The Blood Years: Part III

by Elana K. Arnold
As a Jewish teenager in German-occupied Romania during World War II, Frederieke Teitler struggles with the sacrifices she makes in order to survive.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part I, Part II, Part III, Parts IV–V
15 words 9 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. oust
    remove and replace
    The Germans, along with the Romanian government that the Russians have ousted, have retaken the territory together, “driving out the scourge of communism.”
  2. lethargy
    weakness characterized by a lack of vitality or energy
    And, through it all, as summer ripens in Czernowitz, I grow sicker. I try to hide it, as Mama and Opa have enough to worry about. But it’s difficult to mask the lethargy, the exhaustion.
  3. ambivalence
    mixed feelings or emotions
    The grocer looks at me with blank ambivalence, the most welcome reaction I can hope for.
  4. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    I ask for the same things the woman in front of me ordered, but when the grocer tells me how much I owe, I blanch — it’s nearly double the amount I have.
  5. conciliatory
    intended to placate
    Mr. Weissinger makes a conciliatory sound, shakes his head.
  6. deliverance
    recovery or preservation from loss or danger
    I don’t know much Hebrew, and yet, I understand: Opa is praising God, giving thanks for every blessing, he’s praying for success and deliverance.
  7. liaison
    a means of communication between groups
    It is Mr. Strasberg, an old friend of Opa’s whom I haven’t seen since the Germans arrived, though I know he’s a member of the Jewish Council, which means he is a sort of liaison between the Jewish population and the government officials.
  8. unfathomable
    impossible to come to understand
    At the same time, we function as one animal, moving together down the street and through the neighborhood, flushed out of our own homes and carried, as if by a mighty current, to some unfathomable place.
  9. sanctioned
    established by authority
    At last, we arrive at the section that has been sanctioned for us.
  10. admonish
    counsel in terms of someone's behavior
    “Astra,” Opa admonishes. “That’s enough.”
  11. motley
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    Then he looks at the rest of us, a motley bunch.
  12. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    I study their faces as they come down the stairs, but I can discern nothing. They seem to be walking quickly, but that could mean good news, or bad.
  13. edict
    a formal or authoritative proclamation
    Then, on the cusp of December, there comes a new edict: the entire Jewish population still living in Czernowitz must report to city hall to have our permits reviewed and validated.
  14. gumption
    fortitude and determination
    “It will be like this in all the apartments,” I despair.
    “Little rat tail doesn’t have a bit of gumption,” Astra answers, and somehow, it makes me feel better.
  15. peruse
    examine or consider with attention and in detail
    She peruses them as if she were at the library, selecting two.
Created on Tue Apr 02 10:40:52 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Aug 05 16:52:15 EDT 2025)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.